H2O
by xxxAikaKazumixxx
Summary: Yukihira Mikan is a girl who loved the ocean and the water more than anything in the world. She loves swimming because it made her feel free and happy. It took her mind off the sad past and lonely memories. However, this is about to be taken away from her when her father suddenly reappears and claims her. What will she do? Will she leave her past and go on with the future? RxR
1. Prologue

**Hey everyone! This is kind of like a replacement for my first story, Broken. I'm having a writer's block on that one so I can't finish it yet so for now, I'm gonna work on this one. Yeah..so anyway, please read and enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice.**

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**Prologue**

It was already sunset and the sky was painted red, and orange. The sun was slowly drifting beneath the horizon. The whole place was silent except for the waves softly crashing against each other and a girl's silent breathing.

The girl stood up from her seat and walked along the shore, her long white dress swaying gently in the wind along with her light brown hair. She finally came to a stop to look at the ocean again. This would probably be the last time she could see the ocean so she might as well indulge herself in it. _'This will be the last time I'll see this beautiful place'_, she thought as she took off her dress, letting it fall down to her feet. The only pieces of clothing left were her two-piece bikini. She ran into the ocean and dived. She swam against the current. After 10 minutes, she finally swam back to the beach. She plopped down on the sand. For the rest of the sunset, she sat there remembering the memories she had of this place. She remembered both the sad and happy memories. She remembered the first time she met the ocean, the first feeling she got when the salt water touch her feet. She remembered the thousands of sunsets she spent at this place. At that time, the closest person to her would take her to this place and they would spend the rest of the day just watching the sunset or perhaps, swimming in the ocean. But somehow, she lost a very huge part of her soul when that person left. Now that she's about to leave the very place she loved, it felt like the remaining of her soul was being taken away from her, too.

She simple loved this place. She loved it more than anything in the world. But somehow, everyone around her is trying to separate her from it. As much as she likes to oppose them, she had no right and choice for she's only a fifteen-year-old girl. She couldn't possibly stop them from separating her to the place that holds her remaining soul. They are, after all, just thinking of what's best for her.

Even after thinking like this, she still can't accept it! This place holds all her memories. Especially, the remaining memories of her mother who left her and disappeared in thin air. Just as she was trying to organize her disheveled thoughts, she suddenly heard her phone ringing. She picked up her dress and searched for the pocket which held her phone. When she found it, she looked at the caller's ID immediately. _'Grandpa?'. _She pressed the receive button and put the phone near her ear. "Grandpa? Wha-".

Before she could even finish, a loud scream from the other line cut off her question. "MIKAN! WHY AREN'T YOU BACK YET? IT'S ALREADY 6 IN THE EVENING FOR GOODNESS' SAKE! COME HOME RIGHT THIS MINUTE IF YOU DON'T WANT TO EXPERIENCE A THOUSAND YEARS WORTH OF BEATING!". Right after that, a series of huffs were heard from the other line. The girl, whose name is Mikan, slightly smiled. "Calm down grandpa. I'm coming home. And about the offer you told me earlier, I've thought about it and…I'm accepting it", she finally said. She could already feel the smile on her grandfather's face without even seeing it. She hang up and put the phone back into the pocket on her dress. She stood up and dusted herself. She then picked up her dress and put it on once again.

Before leaving, she looked at the ocean one last time. _'I guess it really is time to let go. Goodbye….mom'_.

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**Hope you liked it! Review if you have the time. Btw, I know this chapter's short but that's only because it's the prologue. The first chapter will be much longer. ^_^**


	2. Chapter 1

**Hey readers! Chapter 1 is up! Hope you like this chapter! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice.**

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**Chapter 1**

"This is the last piece. I'm all set", a certain brunette said as she slung her backpack on her shoulder. She had finally finished packing all her things.

Today. Yes, indeed. Today is the day that she was leaving the small town where she grew up. Today is the day when she'll be starting her new life in the bustling city of Tokyo. And most of all, today is the day when she will finally meet the man who came back from the dead. Well, that was at least what she believed. After all, this man never took the effort to be a part of her life for the past 14 years of her life. Now that she has turned 15, this man suddenly came back, claiming that he is her father and that he would like to take responsibility of her. Yes, responsibility. This word seemed so out of place coming from the man who abandoned her and her mom.

She snapped from her thoughts when the door to her room opened, revealing her grandpa standing by the doorway. Her grandpa's age was clearly evident in his physical from. He looked so skinny and fragile; so old and aged; so tired and..sad. He had a somber expression on his face which made Mikan's heart ache. "Grandpa..", she muttered, trying to hide the sadness in her voice.

She was taken aback when her grandfather suddenly smiled gently at her. He spread out his arms and with a gentle voice, he said "Come, my child. Give your grandpa one last hug".

Mikan rushed to her grandpa. She swung her arms and hugged her grandfather tightly. "Grandpa…I'm gonna miss you", she muttered, her voice slightly shaking.

"I know. I'll miss you too my child. Take care in Tokyo. And please….find it in your heart to forgive your father..", he said.

Mikan pulled away from the hug and stared at her grandfather. "You know I could never do that, grandpa. Never! He was the reason why she left. I can never forgive him!".

Her grandfather stared at her with a somber expression on her face. "I know..but give him a chance. All people deserves as second chance".

Mikan's expression darkened. "Everyone might deserve a second chance but he..he doesn't deserve one. I don't consider him to be my father..much less, a person."

"Mikan..you-", her grandfather started but was cut off when Mikan hugged him one more time.

"Please take care of yourself, Grandpa. Goodbye…", she softly said before she pulled away and began walking downstairs where her-_supposed to be-_father would be waiting.

When she reached the end of the stairs, she saw a man with light blonde hair and blue eyes sitting on the couch. He was wearing a black business suit. He had his hands folded together and he looked a bit nervous. _'Scared to face judgment from the child he abandoned, huh?'_, Mikan thought.

The man looked up and saw Mikan at the end of the stairs. He immediately stood up with a shocked expression on his face. "Y-Yuka?", he stuttered.

Mikan raised one eyebrow. _'Did he just call me using my mother's name?'_.

The man shook his head furiously. "No that can't be!". He turned his attention to Mikan once again. "Mikan…", he finally muttered.

"I'm ready", Mikan said in an indifferent tone which made her father flinch a bit.

"Ah..right". He walked over to Mikan to fetch her bag but she simply slapped his hand away.

"Don't touch me or my things. I can handle something like this perfectly", she warned, venom seeping out of her voice.

"I-I see. Well, then..follow me to the car. Our flight will be at 4 in the afternoon so we still have an hour to get to the airport", he informed. "Oh..and if you need anything, please let me know. I am, after all, your..father", he said before smiling gently at her and heading to the front door.

Mikan was taken aback. That smile that he showed her was very much like her mother's. It was gentle, caring and most of all...loving.

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When Mikan and her _father_ reached the airport, it was already 3:40 in the afternoon. She suddenly heard the airport attendant speak on the mic. "This is the final boarding call for passengers booked on flight 372A to Tokyo City. Please proceed to gate 3 immediately. The final checks are being completed and the captain will order for the doors of the aircraft to close in approximately five minutes time. I repeat. This is the final boarding call for passengers booked on flight 372A to Tokyo City. Thank you.".

Mikan turned to her father who was pacing back and forth. "Uhmm..hey..".

The blonde man turned to face her with an irritated expression on his face. "_Father. _Call me Father", he commanded.

Mikan sighed in irritation. "Well then, _father, _why aren't we boarding yet? Isn't that supposed to be our flight", Mikan said as she pointed to flight 372A shown on the large screen in the airport.

Her father chuckled. "No, we're not boarding a public plane", he said.

Mikan raised one eyebrow. "Huh? Then how do we-". She was cut off when her father continued, "we will be taking my private jet."

"Why do we need a private jet when the plane is already there", Mikan said pointing to the screen once again. "And furthermore, why do _you _have a private jet?", she asked.

Her father's face became serious. "Boarding that plane would be too dangerous for me, including you. Many people wants you and me harmed", he said.

"What do you mean?", Mikan asked one more time.

"Because I am the prime minister of Japan and you are my daughter", he finally admitted.

Mikan's eyes widened. She stood up from her seat and stared at her father. "What do you mean by that? You...you're the prime minister? Then how come-". Her words was cut off once again when an airport staff came running to them. "Mr. Prime Minister, you're private jet is here. Please follow me", the airport staff said. Her father nodded at her, urging her to follow behind him since they are about to leave.

Mikan followed behind her father. When they passed the checking area, four bodyguards surrounded her father as they walked.  
One of them whispered something in her father's ears and her father nodded in approval. "I see", she heard him mutter underneath his breath. Mikan lowered her head. _'He's the prime minister? Then how come he left my mother and me to survive on our own all these years? How come he never, not even once, tried to help my mother and I? Did he know what we had to get through simply because we had no money. Furthermore, he let mom..'_. She didn't continue what she was about to remember again. She hated that memory the most. She looked at her father's back one more time and clenched her fist, her nails almost carving into the very flesh on her palm. _'I hate him..I..will never forgive this man_'

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It was 6 in the evening when they arrived at Tokyo. The private jet landed at the back part of the Prime Minister's official house and office. The door opened revealing Mikan who was sleeping with her head leaning on her sleeping father's shoulder. The servants smiled at the sight of these two, saying that they are father and daughter.

The servants woke them up and Mikan was the first to wake up. She faced her father who was still sleeping peacefully. She grabbed her stuff and before jumping off the jet, she kicked her father's shin. Her father jolted out of his sleep with a slightly loud scream. The servants stared at him in confusion. They didn't actually see Mikan kick her father so they were wondering what happened to the prime minister.

"_Father_, we're here", Mikan said as she rolled her eyes in irritation.

Her father glared at Mikan, aware that it was she that kicked him out of his sleep. _'She acts and looks so much like her mother that it kind of scares me'_, he thought as he stared at her daughter.

That night, Mikan wasn't able to sleep at all. She felt anxious and somewhat scared. She looked around her large room. At the far end of her room, she caught sight of her backpack. She slowly got out of her bed and walked to fetch her backpack. She laid it on top of her bed and opened it, taking out all the things in it and setting them on top of her bed. Among these things was a pink diary secured by a golden heart shaped lock. She took out a golden key from inside one of her books and used it to unlock the diary. She flipped through the pages and found the thing that she's been looking for. It was a picture of a sunny day at the beach with her and her mom swimming in the ocean. The picture was taken by her grandfather nine years ago. She was only 6 at that time yet she knew how to swim. Well, to be exact, she already mastered all the swimming strokes by that time thanks to her mom's lessons.

She stared at her mom's smiling face one more time. Her mom was scary most of the time but she had her soft side, too. She looks exactly as Mikan except for the fact that she looks more mature. Mikan held her mom's picture close to her heart. A drop of liquid escaped her eyes which was later followed by more and more drops. "Mama..I miss you", she muttered as she slowly went to sleep.

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**Hope you liked it~ Oh..and please review if you have the time! Thank you ^_^  
**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone! I'm really sorry for the late update! To make up for the late update, I made this chapter much longer. Oh and by the way, I would like to thank the people who posted reviews, favorited and read my story. Thanks so much for the support!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice.**

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**Chapter 2**

The next day, Mikan woke up at the constant knocking on her door. She looked at her clock and grunted when she saw that it was only 5 in the freaking morning. She lazily got up and rubbed her head which was now aching from crying herself to sleep. She looked around the area and when she saw her things scattered on her bed, she shuffled to her feet and quickly shoved her books, diary, and the picture of her mom inside her backpack. Of course she locked her diary and kept the key someplace where it's safe before finally zipping her bag shut. She then turned her attention to the door. "What is it?", she asked, the irritation evident in her voice.

"It's me…your father", the familiar replied from the other side of the door.

A scowl formed on her face and she couldn't help but grunt as her irritation increases. "What do you want?", she asked.

"Before that, can I come in?"

"This is your house. I don't really have the right to say no"

The door opened revealing her father wearing a pair of black slacks and a blue dress shirt. He had a frown on his face. "Mikan, are you still mad at me for leaving you and your mother?", he asked.

Mikan laughed bitterly. "Correction: you _abandoned _us. There's a difference between leaving someone and right out abandoning them.",she retorted, her fist clenched tightly.

"Mikan, I-", her father was about to explain but was cut off when Mikan put a hand up to stop him from talking.

"Let's drop this subject. Even if you explain a thousand times, I doubt I'll even have the stomach to listen. Now…why are you here early in the morning?".

The frown on his face was soon replaced by a serious look. He figured Mikan wouldn't listen to him right now and that he should probably wait for her anger to subside before he could explain. "Mikan, pack your bags. We're going somewhere".

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The car came to a halt in front of tall, huge black gates and beige walls. The gate had the golden logo of a star with the letter A engraved on it. The gates opened and let their car passed through. They drove to the huge building located right at the front and the driver got off for a minute and entered the building. When he came back, he was carrying a yellow envelope with him. He gave it to Mikan's father and started driving again. They drove further down the path and past the building.

"Where are we and what is that yellow envelope you're holding?", Mikan asked. She was currently seated at the back seat of the car with her father sitting beside her. She had her arms crossed over her chest as she stared outside the window.

"This document confirms your enrollment to the most prestigious academy in Tokyo, Alice Academy. You'll be staying at this academy from now on".

Mikan snapped her head to her father. "What the hell are you talking about?".

"There are dorms in this academy. You will be staying here until the day after you graduate.", her father explained.

"I thought when you asked me to come here, you would actually start fulfilling your duty as a _father_! And now you want me to be stuck in this place until graduation? That's four years from now!".

"Mikan, watch your tone. I'm still your father. I'm doing this for your own good", he reminded in an unusually stern tone.

Mikan's fury grew even more. "For my own good?! Are you kidding me?!".

The stern mask on her father finally slipped, leaving a sad expression on his face. "Mikan, you would be safer here, away from all the people trying to harm me and you. So please..don't think that I'm leaving you here to escape my duty to you as your father", her father pleaded.

The car came to a stop in front of a different building. They were now in front the highschool dorms. Mikan stared coldly at her father before grasping the handle on the door. She opened it and turned her back on her father, preparing to get off the car. Before hopping off of the car, she glanced at her father once again. "Too late..cause I already do". She slammed the car's door shut.

_'What the hell is wrong with that man?! What did mom see in him anyway?'. _Mikan stomped towards the dorm. She was one step away from entering the dorms when she heard a series of footsteps coming towards her and her father calling after her. She spun on her heels and faced the man in front of him. "What?!", she snarled.

Her father gave her a key with a key tag that has the number 306 engraved on it. "Here's the key to your room. Take care while you're here", he father reminded her.

"Is that it? Can I go now?". Mikan quickly turned on her heels once again as she clutched the key tightly in her hands. To her surprise, her father suddenly grabbed her arms and spun her around. Mikan, shocked by the sudden action of her father, could neither speak nor move for a good five minutes while her father hugged her tightly. She was even more surprised when she heard him whisper the two words she least expect him to say.

"I'm sorry", her father softly whispered as he hugged Mikan tightly.

"Even if you say that, I-"

"I'm sorry..._my one and only daughter_", he repeated, his voice softer and gentler. When he finally pulled away, he put something in Mikan's hands. Mikan slowly opened her hands and saw a silver heart necklace with flowers lining it's half part. She stared at it and then looked at her father. "What..".

"It's your birthday gift. I'd always wanted to give it to you but never had the chance to. I know it's already late to give it to you now but still..it's better to give it to you now", he father explained, sadness lingering in his eyes.

Before Mikan could speak, her father immediately left. She stared at her father's retreating car. _'What did he mean_ _by those last words?'_, she mentally asked herself. She then looked at the necklace in her hands and stared at it for quite a long time. It wasn't until the cold air brushed against her skin that she was snapped from her daze. It was 6:30 in the morning, for goodness' sake! She shoved the necklace in the front pocket of her bag and quickly entered the dorm.

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Mikan walked around the dorm for who knows how long. The dorm was _so_ big that she's having a hard time finding her room. Her feet hurt and the weight of the bag hanging on her back didn't help at all. She was so busy mentally complaining about so many things that she accidentally bumped into someone. They both fell on their bottoms due to the force of impact.

"Ah..I'm sorry", the girl whom she bumped into apologized as she stood up and dusted herself.

Mikan looked up to see a girl with wavy pink hair smiling down at her. "Here..let me help you", the girl said, offering her one hand.

Mikan took her hand and the girl helped her up. Mikan dusted her clothes before noticing that the girl hasn't left yet. The girl held out her right hand and smiled at her. "Hi, I'm Anna. Sorry for bumping into you. I was in a hurry to meet the new student who was supposed to come. I've been asked to guide her but I kinda overslept so I came here running, hoping I could still her. Oh..what's your name?", the girl, who introduced herself as Anna, babbled. She then noticed what Mikan was wearing and carrying. She gasped, "Oh my god, don't tell me-your the new student?!".

Mikan faintly smiled. "That's me..Azumi Mikan", she said taking Anna's hand and shaking it.

Anna's faced was washed by confusion. "Uhm...Mikan-chan, I thought your last name was supposed to be _Yukihira. _I remember Narumi-sensei telling me that when I asked him or perhaps..I heard wrong?".

Mikan sighed. "No..actually you're right. My name really is Yukihira Azumi Mikan", she muttered more to herself than to Anna. _'I forgot that man's surname was actually Yukihira. I guess I got used to using mom's surname' _.

Anna's face brightened up once again as she gave Mikan one of her shiniest and prettiest smiles. "Okay! Mikan-chan, follow me. I'm gonna show you our room", Anna said as she clapped her hands in excitement.

"Our..room?"

"Oh..didn't they tell you? In the highschool dorms, four students are assigned to each dorm room", Anna explained.

"I see"

"There's already four students in our dorm room including me. But there's still an empty space so they decided to put you with us though I don't mind it at all. It's more livelier with many people", Anna said. "Oh..let me tell you a little 'bout our roommates. They're kind of odd but they're really nice people. Okay..so first one is Nonoko. She's my twin but we have our differences. She has straight navy blue hair unlike me but we have the same eye color", she explained as she motioned to her hair and eyes. Mikan nodded in understanding. Anna then started walking again. "The next one is Sumire. She's the sassy one in the group. She has short dark green hair with several distinctive curly, long strands at the front and dark olive green eyes. She's mostly nice when she's happy but don't make her mad cause she can be a real bitch when that happens. Trust me...I've experienced it".

"That must be scary", Mikan muttered absentmindedly. Anna nodded and smiled. "You bet! Oh..I'm going off track. Anyway, the last one is Hotaru. She's really smart and indifferent but she's unexpectedly nice though she rarely expresses it. But you should be careful of her Mikan-chan...she _loves _blackmailing people", Anna said the last words almost in a whisper. Then, she abruptly stopped walking and turned to the door in front of them. Anna smiled at Mikan. "We're here".

Mikan's eyes trailed from Anna to the door. There was gold plating on the white door with 'Room 306' engraved on it in cursive. Anna grasped the gold doorknob and slowly turned it. The aroma of delicious food coming from the kitchen immediately reached Mikan's nose. She gulped as she tried to imagine what it is. She was, once again, snapped from her daze when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"C'mon Mikan-chan. Let's go in...I'm starving!", Anna said as she pulled Mikan's arm towards the kitchen. "Hey everyone!", Anna greeted the three girls who was quietly eating their meals.

"Hi Anna!", a blue haired girl cheerfully greeted back.

"Oh Anna..you're back", a girl with dark green hair greeted without even looking up from her food.

"Hey", a girl with raven black hair cropped short indifferently greeted.

Anna smiled at them and pulled Mikan next to her. "I brought the new student! Look, isn't she pretty?". All three of the girls stared at Mikan which made Mikan quite uncomfortable.

"Oh my god Anna! She _really _is pretty!", the blue haired girl, which Mikan recognized as Nonoko, agreed enthusiastically.

The girl sitting next to Nonoko, which would probably be Hotaru, stared indifferently at Mikan but for a split second, Mikan thought she saw money signs in Hotaru's eyes. The green haired girl, which would be Sumire, didn't agree though. She just glared coldly at Mikan for some unknown reasons. Judging from Hotaru and Sumire's attitude, Mikan figured that she would probably have a bit of a hard time getting along with them.

Realizing that she has been staying quiet for quite a long time, Mikan decided to brush away her thought and instead, introduce herself. "Hello. I'm Yukihira Azumi Mikan. I'll be in your care from now on", she introduced.

Nonoko stood up to introduce herself but Anna stopped her. "Uh..actually, I got pretty excited while Mikan-chan and I are walking so I introduced all of you. She already know all of you guys' names, right Mikan-chan?". Mikan nodded, "Yeah..".

"I see..well c'mon. The food's gonna get cold if you wait any longer", Nonoko said as she motioned to the empty seats in between her and Sumire. Anna quickly took her seat but Mikan just stood there. "Uhm..it's okay. I'm good", she said though she immediately regretted when she saw Nonoko frown. "But hey, it's not like I don't like the food. Well, in fact, it's my favorite. I just don't feel hungry right now", Mikan explained. Nonoko smiled at her reaction.

"It's alright..we understand. You must be tired so you should go get a rest first. Oh by the way, you're things just arrived early this morning. It's in your room, at the end of the hallway". Nonoko pointed to the room at the very end of the hallway.

Nuh-uh, I'm not kidding. There really is a hallway inside the dorm room. Their dorm room actually looks like a pretty big apartment with five rooms (each having their own baths and walk-in closets), a kitchen complete with all the things they would need, a dining room with a big round table and five chairs, a small laundry room, and of course, their own living room with a modern round leather couch, 60 inch. plasma tv, and other cool gadgets.

Mikan nodded at Nonoko and excused herself from the others. Before she could leave, Anna stopped her once again. "Mikan-chan, don't forget I'm gonna tour you around the school later in the afternoon, okay?", Anna asked cheerfully. Mikan smiled and nodded at her before leaving. She walked through the hallway and found the last door at the end of the hallway. She grasped the door's handle and opened it. When she entered the room, she wasn't able to suppress the words that came out of her mouth next. "Holy shi-", before she could totally lose herself, Mikan quickly slapped her hand on her mouth to prevent herself from saying anything more. She looked around the room that she was supposed to stay in until graduation. _'This is...amazing!'_. She thought as she scanned the whole room. She felt contented, satisfied, and most of all, happy with the way her room looked.

Her room looked pretty simple but it's color attracted Mikan the most. The room had the colors sky blue and white as it's theme. The room gives off the cool and fresh feeling and in addition, it wasn't girly which made Mikan even more happy. The room was also complete with a queen bed, study desk, laptops, tv, etc. She walked over to her bed and plopped down. She instantly felt exhaustion washing over her body and without knowing it, she involuntarily closed her eyelids and fell asleep.

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**How was it? Please let me know through the reviews section. Thanks!  
**


	4. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone! Sorry for the really really late update. My schedule's been hectic lately and well, the fact that I had a _lot _of trouble trying to think of our two lovebirds meeting kind of added to the problem. But now my schedule's a bit more open now so hopefully, I'll be able to update faster than usual. Okay! I'm gonna stop talking now so you could go on with the story! Hope you like this chapter! ^_^**

**Disclaimer: I don't and never will own Gakuen Alice.**

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**Chapter 3 **

When Mikan woke up, it was already half past eleven. Mikan groggily rubbed her eyes and leapt off her bed. She freshened up in the bathroom and later, decided to start arranging her things in their respective places.

She slid the box containing her clothes across the room and into the walk-in closet. She opened the box and pulled out a set of folded clothes. She arranged them on the shelves by color. This was one of the habits she got from her mom. She repeated the process for several times until there weren't any clothes left.

"There..done", she whispered to herself as she brushed off any imaginary dust from her hands. She walked out the closet once again and this time, she pulled a much smaller box into the closet. She opened it and inside was all her pairs of shoes. Since her mother and grandpa weren't that well-off, she only had a couple pairs of sneakers, sandals, and flip flops. Never in her life was she able to buy fancy shoes or clothes. But Mikan, being the good daughter she was, never complained to her mother. In fact, she doesn't really care since she doesn't need it anyway.

Mikan arranged the pairs of footwear she had on the lower shelves. She was halfway done when she suddenly heard a knock on the door. "Mikan-chan?", Nonoko called from the other side of the door.

Mikan put the pair of shoes she was holding back into the box and walked to the door. She opened the door as she gestured for Nonoko to come in. Nonoko complied as her face brightened up.

"What did you need, Nonoko-san?", Mikan asked curtly as she continued what she was doing earlier.

"Geez..you can drop the honorifics with me, Mikan-chan. Just call me Nonoko or if you want to, you could also add a –chan after my name", Nonoko said as a soft giggle escaped her lips.

Mikan was feeling hesitant. It would be her first time calling a person her age by their first name again. Ever since her mother left, she had been unable to make friends. She became so quiet and unsociable that her classmates just started drifting away from her. Even her friends before had left her alone when she needed them most. But somehow, Mikan had this nagging feeling in her heart that something feels different. She stared at Nonoko and when she saw the genuine smile on Nonoko's face, Mikan couldn't help but faintly smile. "So…Nonoko-chan, do you need something?", Mikan asked as politely as she could.

Nonoko grinned wider after hearing what Mikan just called her. "Oh it's nothing much. Anna and I, along with Hotaru, are kinda planning on eating at the cafeteria, We ran out of food so there's not much choice. And we could also tour you around the school while we're on it".

Mikan was about to refuse but her stomach was already arguing with her. Mikan turned to Nonoko. "Give me five minutes to get ready"

* * *

"Hotaru, where's Sumire?", Anna asked as the four of them was about to head out the door.

"It's better if we don't bother her. She's bitching about something incomprehensible again", Hotaru muttered as she slipped her shoulder bag across her chest.

Mikan stared at them in confusion as both Nonoko and Anna sighed at the same time. "Same old, same old", both Nonoko and Anna muttered at that same time.

Before Mikan could ask any questions, the twins quickly grabbed hold of each of her arms and dragged her through the hallway with a calm Hotaru trailing behind them.

* * *

When the four of them arrived at the dorm's dining hall, cheerful chatters resounded throughout the whole place. For a moment there, Mikan was completely enveloped in awe as her eyes took in the place's atmosphere and not to mention, its grandness. Fortunately, her amazement didn't slip right through her mask of indifference.

Before Mikan could speak one word, Anna and Nonoko squeezed her arm slightly and pulled her inside the dining hall. The twins pulled her to an empty table made for six people and forcefully made her sit on one of the seats. "Mikan-chan, we're gonna get ours and your food so stay there", Nonoko said as she and her twins linked arms.

Hotaru walked towards the twins and faced Mikan. "I'm gonna get my food, too".

"But-"

"It's okay! Leave it to us!", Anna and Nonoko gave Mikan a thumbs up as they walked towards the end of the long food line. Hotaru lined up behind the twins but Mikan couldn't help but feel amused at the irritated expression on Hotaru's face. _'She looks like an impatient person'_, she thought as she watched Hotaru.

* * *

After a few minutes, Mikan slumped lazily in her seat as she propped her right elbow on the table and leaned her chin on her palm. She looked over to where her roommates headed to and found them still standing at the end of the line with just a couple of people lining up behind them. To pass her boredom, she slipped a hand in her pocket to look for something she could fiddle or play with. Her hand came in contact with a cold necklace. She fished it out of her pocket and held it up. _'It's beautiful'_, she thought as she stared at it in pure amazement.

_"Mikan-chan, I'm sorry mama can't stay with you any longer. Please don't hate your papa"_

Mikan snapped out of her amazement when she remembered who gave her the necklace. Her grip around the beautiful silver necklace tightened as she remembered all her mom's suffering because of her damned old man. She quickly shoved the necklace back into her pocket. "Sorry but I still won't forgive him…", she mumbled unintelligibly.

"Mikan-chan, why are you talking to yourself?"

Mikan snapped her head towards the voice's source and found her three roommates carrying trays of food. Anna sat on the seat next to her with Nonoko and Hotaru sitting on the opposite side of them. Anna pushed a tray of delicious looking food towards her and handed her a pair of chopsticks. "Nothing", Mikan answered simply as she separated the chopsticks Anna handed her. "Thank you for the food", she added.

Anna and Nonoko exchanged glances while Hotaru just stared at Mikan with an unreadable expression on her face. After Mikan cut off any chance of conversation, silence enveloped the four girls. They silently ate their foods but the twins would occasionally stole glances at the brunette who was eating her food quietly, not even sensing the glances the twins were giving her.

They were almost done with their food when Hotaru's phone suddenly rang thus ending the silence. Hotaru fished her phone out of her pockets and looked at the caller ID. She sighed before putting the phone near her ears. "Yes?", she inquired. A woman's can be heard from the other line but only Hotaru could understand what she was saying. "Practice?", Hotaru asked the woman on the other line.

Anna and Nonoko's ears perked up after hearing this. They glanced at each other with confused expressions on their faces.

"Okay, I'll tell them...Yes..Yes, I know..Bye, sensei", Hotaru said before hanging up the phone. She then faced the twins, "Sensei said you two have to go to the usual practice venue after lunch".

"_You_? Isn't it supposed to be '_we'? _Don't tell us you're ditching practice again?", Nonoko asked quite astounded.

"I have more important things to do. And if I leave too, no one will watch over this girl here", Hotaru said as she pointed to Mikan.

Mikan's eyes twitched after hearing Hotaru offensive comment. Before she could stop herself, her cold attitude came seeping out of her supposed-to-e quiet and kind demeanor. The very attitude she reserved for her father had somehow escaped. "I'm not a kid. I don't need people to watch over me. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. And just in case you forgot, I have a _name _and that's Mikan though I'd prefer you calling me Azumi instead", she murmured low enough for other people to hear but loud enough for her seatmates to hear and sense the obvious irritation in her voice.

Hotaru and Mikan's cold eyes met and the twins immediately felt the wave of dark aura coming from each side. To diminish the cold atmosphere around them, Nonoko clapped her hands together and with the most cheerful voice she could manage, she said, "Alright then, Hotaru! Anna and I will go to practice now" Nonoko then glanced at Anna for help. Anna followed her example and quickly stood up. "Oh right!", she joined in and quickly linked arms with Nonoko. Before the twins left, they gave Hotaru one last glance that said 'you-better-behave-or-else-we-won't-help-you-with- your-blackmailing-business'.

Hotaru sighed in defeat. She quickly stood up and took her things with her. "I'm going back first. You should have already memorized where our dorm room is but in case you forgot, here's Anna and Nonoko's number. You can call them", she said as she pushed a small piece of paper towards Mikan. Mikan took it but she didn't say anything. Probably because she still felt irritated. After that, Hotaru walked out of the dining hall, leaving Mikan by herself.

* * *

Mikan walked out of the dining hall shortly after Hotaru left. She toured around the dorm and discovered many beautiful places outside the dorm. While touring, she encountered a pond behind the dorm. She sat on the large boulder of rock sitting by the pond and relaxed herself. But her supposed to be relaxing rest was interrupted by the horde of students' running back towards the dorm. For a moment there, Mikan thought some kind of emergency was happening but all of this was proved wrong when she heard the voices of the scurrying students.

_"They're back! They're back!"_,

_"Oh my god! I wanna see them!"_,

_"Dude, hurry up! We can't miss this!"_

Mikan stood up and with her curiosity getting the best of her, she followed the students. _'What's happening?_', she wondered as she followed closely behind the students. Before she knew it, she was back in the dorm's dining hall. When she entered, there was a large group of students huddled together in the middle of the hall. More students came in and desperately tried pushing past the large group of people. The students were screaming, cheering and….boo-ing?

_"Hey, there's a fight! That Sumire girl is arguing with Hyuuga-sama"_, one girl told her friend as she ran towards the group too.

Mikan's eyes widened in shock. She ran towards the group of students and tried pushing past them. "Let me through, you idiots", she screamed as she pushed her way through the group. When she finally succeeded in pushing her way to the front, Mikan immediately saw a furious olive green haired girl standing in the middle. Mikan followed Sumire's eyes and her eyes landed on a tall, lean guy with raven black hair and piercing crimson eyes and four more guys standing behind him. They were all very good-looking, much to Mikan's surprise.

"You bastard! How dare you!", Sumire screeched at the guy, causing Mikan to snap her attention back to her.

Mikan heard a couple more boo's and complaints from the crowd of people but they halted all at once when the raven-haired guy raised his hand. When it was quiet again, the guy slipped his hands back into his pocket and looked at Sumire with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Haven't I made myself clear? We're over", he said, the irritation evident in his voice.

Sumire slightly flinched at his tone. She was about to retort when another girl came into view. The girl, who had strawberry pink hair, strode over to the raven-haired guy and linked arms with him. "Shouda, just accept it, will you? _My _Natsume will never like an ugly bitch like you. He was simply playing with you, right Nastume-kun?", the girl asked in her sickly sweet voice and pursed her lips as she glanced up to meet Natsume's crimson eyes.

"Leave me alone, Koizumi", Natsume said as he shrugged out of the girl's hold.

Mikan almost chuckled after seeing the priceless expression on the strawberry-haired girl's face. But she refrained from doing so because she would rather not get involved in the fight, too. But it's still too soon to say things like this.

Sumire chuckled, earning her all the student's curious stares. Even Mikan was surprised. _'Uh-oh..I don't feel good about this'_, she thought. "Ohoho..it looks like you're right, Luna. He really doesn't like ugly bitches…like _you_", Sumire sneered.

And that was when everything went from worse to worst.

Luna stomped over to Sumire, her pink eyes burning with fury. Mikan knew what was gonna happen next so when she saw Koizumi raise her hand, she quickly ran over to Sumire just in time to catch Luna's arm. Everyone gasped and Mikan could feel all the student's eyes focused to her.

"Let go", Luna hissed through her gritted teeth.

Mikan _did_ let go of her arm but she didn't do it nicely. She literally shoved her arm away thus resulting to Luna involuntarily taking a step back and almost tripping due to her overly high stilettos.

If there was something Mikan hates the most, it was arrogant bitches like Luna trying to hurt someone just because their pride was hurt or because they were humiliated. She didn't like the fact that the one Luna's trying to hurt was her roommate, too. Sumire and her might not be close but they surely aren't enemies too. Sumire was Mikan's acquaintance and she would never let someone she knew get beaten by some bitch which in this case is Luna.

"You bitch! How dare someone as filthy as you touch me!",Luna screeched.

Mikan smirked. "If I'm filthy, then what about you? Someone like you who takes pleasure in hurting someone is filthier than sewage", she retorted with a confident aura surrounding her.

Somehow, her remark was recognized by the whole student body. Loud clapping and whooping resounded throughout the hall as the students cheered for her. Even the girls who seemed to be irritated earlier and the six guys, including the raven-haired guy, was amused by her remark. Luna, whose face was redder than before, screeched in extreme anger. "You're gonna regret messin' with me", she threatened before stomping out of the dining hall.

Now it was Mikan, Sumire and the six guys left in the middle. Mikan glared at the guys before spinning on her heels and facing Sumire. "Are you alright, Sumire-san?", she asked sincerely.

Sumire stared at her before smiling. "Yeah..thanks for helping me", she said, genuine gratitude evident in her voice.

"Oi, woman"

Mikan spun around to face the voice's source. "Excuse me?", she asked, unsure if she had heard him right.

"Yeah, _you_, woman. What's your name?", the raven haired guy asked, his expression unchanging though Mikan swore she saw amusement in his eyes.

"What the hell-why should I tell you?", she spat before grabbing Sumire's hand and dragging her past the crowd of people and outside the dining hall.

* * *

Meanwhile…

"Whoa! Boy, that girl sure is damn _hot_! Not to mention..._feisty_!", a tall boy with dirty blonde hair stated. "Do you think she has a boyfriend?", Koko asked rather enthusiastically.

"Koko, shouldn't you wonder what her name is first? Geez...", a blonde boy mused as he slowly shook his head. He then turned his attention to his raven-haired best friend who slowly walked over to where the Mikan and Sumire were before and crouched down to pick something. "What are you doing, Natsume?", he asked as he strode over to his best friend.

Natsume held up a silver heart necklace. The necklace-or rather a locket- was opened and inside was two pictures. The first one was a small picture of a couple while the other one was the picture of the girl he had met earlier-only younger. "I'll find out her name…_soon_", he muttered as a smirk made its way to his lips. Though, none of the crowd of students nor his friends saw the smirk in his face.

* * *

**So how was it? Please let me know through the reviews! And thank you for reading! ^_^**


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